Control of aeroplanes.



R. FITZ POWER.

CONTROL OF AEROPLANES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2|. I91].

2 SHETSSHEET I.

Patented Mar. 11, 1919.

, INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 11,1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- INVENTOR W @FMW flaw W ATTORNEY CH' 1) FITZ POWER, OF DOVEBIDGE, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALE T0 OLIVER WOLCGTT THOS, OF ITHACA, NEW YORK.

messes. y

Application filed July 21 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD Frrz PowER, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of Doveridge, Derby,

' England, have invented new and useful Improvements in and Relating to the Control of Aeroplanes, of which the following is the specification.

In aeroplanes as hitherto constructed wherein provision is made for dual control, if the pilot should be killed, disabled, or become unconscious, difliculty arises when the observer inserts his operating lever,;commonly called a control-stick. mm the-operating socket in order to-- take control, in that the unconscious body or limbs of the pilot may be holding, rest1ng upon, or otherwise fouling the corresponding free operation or movement of the pilots control-stick or operating lever and vertical rudder operating bar. This disadvantage which arises in mechanism hitherto employed beco'mes very serious if the Weight of the-limbs or body of the pilot has to bemoved by the observeriin operating the pilots control-stick and foot bar simultaneously with the efi'ort to control the aeroplane.

The object of my invention is to provide means for overcoming the foregoing difliculty and disadvantage, and further to provide means for releasing the control-stick and foot rudder bar of the pilot and render them quite free and inoperative when the observer has inserted and forced home the base of his control-stick or operating lever into the socket provided for same. A further object is to provide means to enable the pilot to again take control if he should recover consciousness.

According to my invention I make the pilots operatin lever or control-stick slidable telescopically in the lower socket. I form longitudinal slots through the socket as at present constructed adapted to receive the observers control-stick. Precisel'y similar longitudinal slots are also formed through the socket in which the control-stick of the pilot is adapted to slide.

I construct the control-stick of the pilot at its lower end with a ball and socket or other universahjoint, the socket of such joint being of the same diameter as the-stick Specification-of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar; 11, 1919. .1917. Serial Ho. 182,054.

or lever and like it is adapted to slide telescopically in the lower end or main socket which as before described is slotted. Thus if the control-stick of the pilot is lifted in the lower or main socket in order to raise the ball and socket joint above the upper end of the said outer or main socket, the universal joint comes into operation, and the said main socket can then be moved freely by the observer without its being affected by the pilots control-stick or by his hold thereon.

I provide a longitudinal lever fulcrumed at its center in a rocking vertical link which is placed exactly midway between the said main sockets rovided respectively for the control-sticks of the pilot and observer. The said vertical link therefore partakes of the same movement longitudinally and laterally of-both the before-mentioned lower or main sockets, and the said lever ends pass through-the slots .in the said main sockets and also through the slot in the ball socket of the pilots control-stick.

I provide a detachable pin fittin through holes formed through the said socket of the observers control-stick at such a position below that portion of the rocking lever which passes through. the. slots that the rocking lever is retainedin its normal position, 2'. 6. with the rearmost end at the bottom and the foremost end at the top of the respective slots. The pin must be removed by the observer before he can insert his operating lever or control-stick sufliciently far in its socket to operate the said longitudinal rocking lever. The two said main sockets are secured in the known manner to the longitudinal shaft mounted in ball bearings, and adapted to have a=partial rotation or angular movement in the said bearings. This safety pin prevents the pilot from bein able to pull out his control-stick? as .in t e case of an involuntary loop and so accidentally losing control.

When the pilot becomes'disabled or unthrough the said slots, is pressed down by' the end of the observers control-stick, and the other end of the said longitudinal lever is correspondingly raised and forces the control-stick of the pilot upwardly sliding in the outer main socket. When the control-stick is raised"sufiiciently to bring the ball and socket joint-out of the lower socket, the ilots control-stick will move freely in elther direction and can no longer operate the socket in which it slides although the pilot may be stlll gripping his control-stic Asthe feet of the pilot in death or disablement may in' a like manner. foul the 'foot operating lever or 'vertical' rudder The said vertical rudder operating bar has its fulcrum pin detachable instead of being fixed as hitherto, and I provide means to enable the said plunger to release the said ful'crumpin in order that the observer may take free and unhampered control by placing his feet on the rudder operating pedals as at present provided forhim;

When the said longitudinal rocking lever is forced upwardly at its other end by the insertion of the observers control-stick into the main socket as before described, the said plunger is given an upward movement whichmovement effects the release of the fulcrum or pivot pin of the foot rudder operating bar or'lever, and when so released,

the bar'or lever can no longer operate the wires connected tothe vertical rudder. The

- fulcrum pin is provided with a disk head having fitted beneath same a strong spring, said plunger serving to hold the sprlng n compression and the fulcrum pin in position. On the release by the said plunger of its holding pressure upon the saidpm,

the spring forces the pin upwardly anlibut of engagement with the rack on'whichthe said rudder operating bar or lever is mounted. The said rack instead of being formed as hitherto as a straight bar, is provided with curved flanges surrounding each pin hole in order to act as a guide for two guiding pins which are provided with rollers secured to the under-side of the said foot 'lever or rudder operating bar. In order to avoid the possibility of the plunger pm,

being drawn clear of the rack, short curved plate springs may be provided having recessed ends which are secured to the rack on each sideof theholes formed in the rack;

In order to further insure the disengagement from the feet of the unconscious pilot 'foot bar or lever fulcrumn- This spring of the foot bar or lever when the observer:

forwardly and secured to small levers or pulleys on the frame of the nacell'e or body, from which levers or pulleys the wires extend backwardly to the vertical rudder. I provide also that the socket for the observers control-stick shall be of such depth above the before mentioned slot and longitudinal lever that the observers' control-stick can be partly inserted for dual control for instructional purposes, the said position. a y

The before-mentioned plunger is also provided with a spring to press it downwardly when operating to reengage the 1s compressed by the downward movemeiit of ythe rearmostpor'tionof the rocking lever, the-pin1fiXed,-on the end of the plunger pressing againsta .sheet metal disk, until such time as-theafter-described wire shall have pulled-the foot bar fulcrum pin back into its original position when the plunger spring operates and forces the plunger pin on to the head of the foot bar fulcrum pin which, having been guided into position by the previously described flanges and rollerpins, isforced once more into its hole in the rack.

As it .is possible that the pilot may desire to recover. complete control after only a temporary loss of consciousness, and in order to insure that the pilot shall regain control of the foot bar or leveron forcing his control-stick down into its socket, I provide a wire connection which is secured to the said longitudinal rocking lever and which passes over a small pulley. or pulleys mounted on thelongitudinal main link connecting the two main sockets. The said wires then pass over" pulleys mounted upon the longitudinal shaft of usual construction, the otherv end of the wire being secured to the center of the foot bar" or lever on the rear side. The above mentioned pulleys are .so situated in slots cut in the upperand lower shafts respectively that the upper periphery of the upper pulley and the lower periphery of the lower pulley are each situated on the center l1ne of their respective carrying bars.

detachablepinv then being retained in its A third guiding pulley wheel is placed on the upper rack to insure a directly-backward pull on the foot bar by the reengaging cable. When therefore the pilot forces his control-stick downwardly in the main socket inorder to regain control, the said wire by its connection to the said longitudinal rocking lever draws the foot bar backwardly in order that the said lever movement may by forcing downwardly the said plunger-thrust the said fulcrum pin back into its hole or socket and thus render the pilots foot bar or leveragain operable. The plunger is provided with a s rin which is in compression completely understood reference should be ating the foot bar fulcrum pin.

made to the accompanying sheets of drawings which illustrate diagrammatically the", preferred mode of carrymg the invention into effect.

Figure 1 is an elevation of the control mechanism. I

Fig. 2 is a plan of same.

Fig. 3 is a view to a larger scale of the means for releasing and recovering control of the rudder or foot bar lever. Fig. 4 is a view to a larger scale of the ball and socket joint of the pilots controlstick. I f

Fig.5 is a section showingthe fulcrum pin in operative position.

Fig. 6. is a similar section showing the fulcrum pin of the foot bar lever released.

Fig. 7 is an end view of the plunger oper- Fig. 8 is a detail plan view of the lower rack plate seen from below.

A is the fcontrol-stick of the pilot fitting the socket A, and B the control-stick of the observer fitting the socket B 0th le-- within the socket A The sockets A .ets and said link, are the same distance are each pivoted on pins at their lower ends A, B respectively, and the two sockets are connected together at their upper ends by the rod C. idway between the said two sockets is the vertical link .D which is pivoted upon a pin D at its lower end. The pins B 1), and A are all fitted upon a longitudinal shaft mounted in ball bearings E E ,'and adapted to rock or have a partial rotation therein. As the upper and lower pin centers in the control-stick sockapart, the sockets with the control-sticks can move freely longitudinally uponthe said pins and also laterally by means of the rockingshaft E. a

The rocking lever F is fulcrumed at its center upon the pin F in the vertical link D, one end of the lever passes through and is guided'in a slot in the socket B and the other end. fits through a similar slot in the "socket A, and also through the lower end of the lever A, the telescoping portion at the lower end of each of the control-sticks A and -B respectively, rest upon the said lever ends so that if one is pressed down, the other is raisedin its socket. Figs. 1 and 2 the observers control -stick is shown thus pressed down, and the pilots control-stick detachable pin which is removed by the obf server before his control-stick can be inserted far enough to take control. The pin passes through the socket B beneath the lever F and therefore locks this end of the lever F in the up position, while the other end of the lever F is at the bottom of its slot in the socket A (the position shown in Fig. 3).-

The rudder operating or foot bar G shown in plan in Fig. 2 is shown in section in Fig. 1, and is shown to a larger scale in Figs. 3, 5 and (i. The fulcrum pin G of the rudder bar is adapted toslide vertically in a metal bush G (see Figs. 3, 5 and 6) it is'formed with a head G and has a compression spring G, tendin to thrust it upwardly. A fulcrum .hole or the lower metal carrier plate or rack- G.

When in the bearing hole G as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the fulcrum pin holds the foot bar lever G in position enabling it to be operated by the pilot. The plunger H is 'mounted on the pin H in the lever F and extends around and well clear of the shaft E. The pin H is fitted in a slot in the plunger and has the spring H pressing it upwardly. The rod H -on the lower end of the plunger passes through the holein the upper plate or lack G and is adapted when moved downwardly to press on the headof the fulcrum pin G and force it, by compressing the spring G*, into the operative position shown in Figs. 3 and 5. Fig. 6 shows the fulcrum pin in the released position pressed upwardly bythe spring G Mounted on the rod C is the pulley G a similar pulley E being seeurely mounted on the rocker shaft E, a cord or wire is secured to the lever F and is passed over the pulley '0 through slots in the rod, and under the pulley E through like slots in the" shaft E,

rack plate Gr whlch serve as guides for the.

rollers G which are mounted on pins pro jecting downwardly from the bottom of the foot bar G. The flanges G while insuring that the rudder bar fulcrum pin when being aring G. is provided in? socket A, the pilots control-stick A, may move freely in any direction upon the ball drawn back shall not escape being thrust into its original hole, nevertheless do not hinder the free partial rotation of the rudder bar.

Wire connections K, K are provide from the foot bar lever G to. the lower ends of the two rocking levers K K, .which are mounted on fulcrum pins in brackets secured to the frame (see Figs. 1 and 2), and WlI'e connectionsK K connect the upper ends of the said rocking levers in a crossed manner as shown in Fig. 2 to the lever L adapted to rock on the fulcrum pin L' 'secured to the machine frame and placedbelow the seat of the pilot. Cable or wire connections are fitted to the leverL for operating the rudder in the usual manner. Placed in front of the observers seat and control-stick B, and

.mounted on the frame are the usual foot levers M, M, of bell crank form fulcrumed at M M Each lever is fitted with the usual tension spring M M respectively, secured at their-lower ends to the frame. From the outer arms of the leversM, M respectively, (see Fig. 2) are .wire or cable connections L L to-the ends of the lever L which is of the usual construction.

-'It will be observed that by means of the described mechanism, if the pilot should be injured or become unconscious, and the observer or second operator on the aeroplane inserts his control-stick B into the socket B to take control after having first withdrawn the safety pin from the hole F, the lever F is thrust downwardly in the slot in the socket B by the insertion ofthe control-stick B, and 'as a consequence the control-stick-A is thrust upwardly by the other .end of the said rocking lever sliding in the slot in the socket A so that when the ball of the ball and socket joint A is above the said and socket joint, so that the pilot can no longer operate his control-stick, and the weight of his limbs or body has not to be moved by the observer in operating his control-stick. By the insertion moreover of the control-stlck of the observer by means of the plunger rod H pivoted at H to the rocking lever F, the foot bar operating lever of the pilot is completely released, the spring G under the head of the fulcrum in of'thls bar raising it out of operative connection, so that it is withdrawn from the bearing hole in the rack plate G, and so merely slides forward if pressed by the pilots feet.

Further, if the pllot should recover consciousness and desires to regain control of the-machine, he can do so by the described mechanism, by thrusting downwardly his controlstick A into its socket. A; by means of the rocking lever F, he forces the control lever B of the observer or second operator out of its socket, and simultaneously by the thrustin downwardly of the end of the lever F in t e socket A by means of the plunger H connected to the said lever,

wiseadjustment'of said last mentioned stick the other control stick is released and rendered inoperative.

2. Dual control mechanism for aeroplanes including two control sticks and two foot controls, one of said control sticks being adapted to be adjusted lengthwise, and means whereby upon lengthwise adjustment of said last mentioned control stick the other control stick and one of the foot controls are released and rendered inoperative.

3. Dual control mechanism for aeroplanes including two control sticks, one of said control sticks being adjustable lengthwise to couple the same with the controlling means and. to uncouple the same therefrom and render the stick inoperative, the other control stick being adjustable lengthwise, and means whereby upon the lengthwise adjustment ofjsaid last mentioned control stick the other control stick is shifted lengthwise 4 to uncouple and render the same inoperative.

4:. Dual'control mechanism for aeroplanes including a pilots control stick and foot control, an'observ'ers control stickand foot control, the observers control stick being lengthwise adjustable, and meanswhereby upon lengthwise adjustment of the observerscontrol stick the pilots control stick and foot control are released and rendered inoperative.

5. Dual control mechanism for aeroplanes including a socket, a control stick having its lower portion telescoping in said socket, a universal joint connection between a lower portionof the control stick and an upper portion thereof, said control stick being adapted to be moved downwardly within said socket to provide a rigid connection between the socket and the control stick, and to be moved upwardly to position the universal joint of the stickoutside of the socket .to' release the stick from ,rigid connection masses providing a rocking lever one end of which passes through a slot in the socket of the pilots control-stick, and the other through a like slot in the socket of the observers control-stick, fulcrumed and operating in such manner that only one of said control-sticks shall be effective for control at a time.

7. In control mechanism for aeroplanes, providing. connecting means between the rocking lever claimed in claim 6 and the foot bar or rudder operating lever, whereby thefulcrum of the latter is released when the pilots control-stick is pressed upwardly by the said rocking lever to place the ball of the universal oint above the telescoping socket. i

8 Dual control mechanism for aeroplanes including an observers control stick, a pilots foot control lever, a fulcrum pin for said lever movable into and out of operative engagement with the lever, and means controlled by the observers control stick'for moving the fulcrum pin out of engagement with said pilots foot control lever.

9. In control mechanism for aeroplanes,

the combination with a rocking lever of the kind claimed in claim 6, of a plunger or rod pivoted thereon, which rod holds the fulcrum pin of the foot rudder bar in operative position, and spring means for releasing the said fulcrum pin from its operative pos tion.

10. Dual control mechanism for aeroplanes including a pilots control stick, an observers control stick, a socket, said observers control stick being lengthwise adjustable in the socket, means whereby upon downward movement of the observers control stick the pilots control stick is released and rendered inoperative, and a device to lock the observers control stick in its uppermost position in the socket against downward movement in the socket to release the pilots control stick.

RECHARD FITZ POWER. 

